The Lion’s Roar / William Schmidt
Students stand in line at the annual Strawberry Jubilee for red beans, rice and French bread. The event was held on Apr. 13 in the Student Union Mall.
Last Wednesday began with a downpour of rain for the morning. The Campus Activities Board ensured that the festivities of Strawberry Jubilee would not be halted.
Since spring of 1980, the Jubilee kicks off with the traditional cutting of the strawberry cake. This year’s first cut took place at 11 a.m. by President John L. Crain and Miss Southeastern 2016 Alexis LaPlante launching the event that would last until 2 p.m. in the Student Union Walkway.
A few changes did take place from previous years. CAB also knew that it would most likely rain a few days before the event. Though not all the activities were available such as snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy and a couple of other things, CAB Coordinator/Advisor Nick Elliott was pleased with the turnout by 11:17 a.m. and despite the early rain that cleared up for the event, knew that it would only get better when the 11 a.m. classes let out.
“The move we went with was less bounce houses and more take away items,” said Elliott. “That is something they can take away from Strawberry Jubilee to remember forever. A lot of stuff was still traditional such as the cutting of the cake and the cupcakes. We just filled it up with exotic animals and Stuff A Lion. I would have liked to have it in the park because it would have had more of that park feel because they have benches out there and you can sit out there but this is still happening. You build your Lion, you take it away, you are happy where you are.”
Some of the new activities, such as the create your own license plate, Stuff A Lion and exotic animals continually had a line of participants. Some students passing through the Union Walkway had no idea of the event that was taking place but were drawn in.
“I just got out here and I saw the snake and stuff like that so I am just looking around,” said freshman business major Haley Johnson. “This is seriously the coolest thing. I love getting to see all the animals.”
Others came looking for a free T-shirt and rather left with memories that would last forever.
“I heard they had exotic animals and that was amazing,” said freshman health care management major Alexis Guerrn. “I got to pet a spotted-leopard and that was a dream come true. I mean I got my picture drawn for the first time and then they had an exotic animal petting zoo right there. It was really diverse and I like it.”
Other events of the Jubilee included the serving of red beans and rice, a pie throwing booth, self-portrait drawings, selfie prints by CAB, organizational booths, an appearance by Phil the Pig and more.
Among the organizational booths, the Baptist Collegiate Ministry had a free ring toss. They were glad to switch from being participants of Strawberry Jubilee to being a part of the Jubilee.
“We just really want to reach students and we just wanted to make our organization known on campus,” said sophomore nursing major Carli Soileau. “Last year, we didn’t have a booth, all the people of the BCM just met together and ate together. I think it is really cool this year that we actually get to have a booth and just be out there instead of just being a part of the crowd. We actually get to give them something else at Strawberry Jubilee.”
Make sure to follow CAB on Instagram @southeastern.cab.